you're all I ever need never leave
by free.song
Summary: How did things go so wrong, so fast? Based of 1.23.


Disclaimer: I do not own H50.

Thank you to the reviewer who pointed out my line-breaks disappeared. o.o

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><p>"I'm sorry, Commander," she says, distracted by whatever file she's reviewing so closely, "but it says here that Detective Williams passed away on the table." She looks up, then, eyes widening at whatever she must see on his face.<p>

He can't hear anything over the loud rushing sound in his head as his world grounds to a sudden, jolting stop.

Danny…

Danny is…

What?

Steve can't breathe, and the sterile, white room he's in seems way too small all of a sudden. He ignores the sympathetic, half-concerned look on the nurse's face, turns on his heel, and walks out of the hospital in a dazed sate of confusion.

How did everything go so wrong so fast?

All he can see is Danny struggling for breath, ragged and gasping for air he just couldn't seem to get. There had been a pleading expression on his face when Steve was mumbling whatever meant-to-be-reassuring words he couldn't remember now, and he'd swayed the slightest bit forwards, towards Steve, and his eyes are burning, making his vision blur as he walks out into the open air.

He can still hear the desperation lacing his own voice, can still feel it welled up inside him with nowhere to direct it, nothing to take out all the coiled rage and adrenaline, and the sudden, howling storm of other, nameless emotions whirling around in his head.

He's shaking, he realizes dimly, only vaguely aware that he's moving, headed somewhere on instinct, and he just…Doesn't care. He can't; he's numb, and frozen, and nothing matters anymore.

Not even the steady-constant crash of the waves on his own private beach could dull the sharp, stabbing pain deep in his gut, or disperse the growing certainty that he was lost, adrift, without an anchor anymore.

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><p>The first thing he hears is the beeping of the heart monitor, and he groans, making a face at the fact that he's landed himself in the hospital again. At least, he's pretty sure he can't blame this particular incident on the crazy people in his life that he calls his team. For once.<p>

Danny chances opening his eyes, groaning again, louder, when the light stabs into them and pain spikes in his head. "Ow. Fuck, someone turn the lights off," he mutters, and attempts to raise an arm until he realizes he's attached to all kinds of machines, and it'd be better to just leave it at his side.

"Welcome back to the land of the living brah," Chin says, one hand resting on Danny's shoulder for a moment before it's replaced by Kono. She hugs him tight, briefly, before pulling away and glaring down at him.

"Don't _ever_ do that again," she orders, and he chuckles, waggling his fingers at her.

"Yes ma'am," he says, focusing on them long enough to stop seeing blurred images, and then realizes why something feels off.

"So," he starts, looking around curiously, "where's our fearless leader, huh?" Danny's pretty sure Steve should be here, doing the concerned mother hen thing he does anytime one of them gets injured. The man can deny it with his dying breath, but he hovers like nobody's business, and Danny's a little surprised not to find him there, to be honest.

His question is greeted by silence, and he takes a moment to sigh loudly at the fact that yes, this _is_ his life, and Steve McGarrett happens to be a huge part of it for reasons Danny is still trying to figure out. Mostly he just assumes his self-preservation instincts are about equal to that of a lemming's and he's maybe just attracted to crazy.

Not that he's saying anything, of course, but he tries not to lie to himself, at least.

"What happened?" he asks at last, mostly resigned to finding out Steven blew something up, or dangled yet another suspect over probably-man-eating sea creatures.

He was like that, sometimes -all of the time- and he tended to let the crazy out even more when something like this happened.

_And this is why you're a lemming_, he told himself sourly. Of all people to fall for, of _course_ he had to pick the psychopathic SEAL with issues as deep as the fucking ocean itself.

"Uh, well," Chin starts, sharing one of those 'super-secret-wonder-cousins' looks with Kono, "there was a mix-up when they brought you in."

"And?" He has a bad feeling about this.

"And the hospital staff might have told the Boss you died?" Kono phrases it like a question. Like that's going to stop Danny from what he's about to do. Which is probably stupid, considering the last twenty-four hours, but Hell if he's going to leave Steven out there thinking he's dead.

He _knows_ Steve, okay, and the crazy bastard doesn't deal well with…Anything. Danny has to find him before…

He just has to find him.

"Kono, go find a nurse. I'm signing myself out," he orders, and does his best to push himself up on the bed, grimacing at the effort it takes. Yeah, okay, maybe not the best idea, but it's the only one he's got, and he _has_ to do this. "Chin," he adds, motioning towards him, "help me up."

"Danny, listen, you can't just-" He'd expected that.

"I can, and I am, Chin Ho Kelly. You two can either help me, or get the fuck out. Be useful and track down my wayward psycho, 'cause I'm leaving either way." He manages a weak, shaky grin when Chin walks over, and helps him to his feet.

"Right," Kono sighs, and goes to find a nurse that'll be less inclined to argue pointlessly with Danny.

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><p>Steve looks like he's seen a ghost.<p>

Danny found him right where he figured he would, and jeeze, Steven looks like Hell. Not that Danny can really talk there, given the whole dying thing he was doing twenty-four hours ago.

"You goof," he says, stopping in the sand a few feet away, just looking. "Also, I'm not dead," he adds, spreading both arms in a 'here I am' gesture.

Steve just stares for a long moment, like he can't believe what he's seeing. It hurts, that look on his face, and knowing Danny put it there.

"Danny?" The desperation, disbelief, hope, and sheer _grief_ tangled up in his name out of those lips is painful to hear.

He's never wanted to cause that much pain to his partner. His friend. His.

Because Steve _is_ his, he knows that now, and well, he's always been Steve's.

"Yes Steven, it's me," he says, takes a breath, and crosses the short distance between them to drop to his knees in the sand in front of the other man.

"How-" Steve cuts his own self off, reaching out instead, and God, he's a shaking, emotional wreck, but the touch of his hand against Danny's cheek feels so fucking good, and as soon as he makes contact he loses it.

Danny was half-expecting it, and wraps his arms around him as Steve practically wraps himself around Danny, completely tangling them together. "There was a mix-up at the hospital," he says, softly, eyes closed as Steve buries his face against his neck, inhaling deeply like this is all he needs, ever. "They gave you the wrong information, babe. I'm okay."

"Fuck," Steve mutters, mostly incoherent against Danny's skin, and his grip tightens momentarily.

"I'm okay," Danny repeats, one hand running up and down his partner's back, lazy, wide circles that are meant to be soothing.

Steve just holds on, tight, and neither one of them let's go.


End file.
